1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates generally to tools for handling of materials and more specifically to a tool for scooping and scraping materials stored within a cylindrical container.
2. Description of Related Art
The use of drywall materials for interior walls in residential and commercial buildings is widespread. Once the drywall sheets are affixed to studs, the seams between adjacent sheets are sealed with a tape and covered with a material generally called joint compound. Joint compound is typically sold in cylindrical containers such as buckets in a quantity such as five gallons. Application of the joint compound is achieved by scooping out a sizable portion and applying it on or in the worker's tools, where it is then applied to the drywall. Typically, workers use many different objects for performing the scooping operation, many of which are ill-suited to the task. Such objects include spoons, trowels, sticks, cups, scoops, and the like. These objects may be generally acceptable for simply obtaining joint compound from the bucket, but all leave substantial residue of the joint compound in the bucket which cannot be reached by the objects because of their shape. This results in waste of the joint compound. In addition, the objects used do not allow the worker to obtain most of the joint compound from the bucket without spillage. Use of these objects also results in unnecessary contact of the joint compound with the worker's hand or arm in any attempt to get at the residue. Furthermore, the action of scooping the joint compound out of the bucket is repeated many times by the worker, so a specialized tool for scooping and scraping in a clean and efficient manner would be valuable.